THE SHAKERINE COLLECTION: Calligraphy in Qur’ans and other Manuscripts
THE SHAKERINE COLLECTION: Calligraphy in Qur’ans and other Manuscripts
ABU ‘ABDULLAH MUHAMMAD B. ISMA’IL B. IBRAHIM AL-BUKHARI AL-JU’FI (D.870 AD), AL-JAMI’ AL-SAHIH, A CANONICAL COLLECTION OF TRADITIONS, VOL.I, COPIED BY AHMED B. AL-BADR B. MUHAMMED B. UWAIS AL-MA’ARI AL MUWAQQAR, NEAR EAST, POSSIBLY TRIPOLI, MAMLUK, DATED 805 AH/1402 AD
Auction Closed
October 23, 11:03 AM GMT
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
ABU ‘ABDULLAH MUHAMMAD B. ISMA’IL B. IBRAHIM AL-BUKHARI AL-JU’FI (D.870 AD), AL-JAMI’ AL-SAHIH, A CANONICAL COLLECTION OF TRADITIONS, VOL.I, COPIED BY AHMED B. AL-BADR B. MUHAMMED B. UWAIS AL-MA’ARI AL MUWAQQAR, NEAR EAST, POSSIBLY TRIPOLI, MAMLUK, DATED 805 AH/1402 AD
Arabic manuscript on polished paper, 219 leaves plus 2 flyleaves, 13 lines to the page, written in naskh in black ink, keywords picked out in red or blue ink, headings (bab) in gold, f.1a with gold and polychrome illuminated frontispiece, in brown stamped leather binding, with flap
26.7 by 18.5cm.
Formely in the Hagop Kevorkian Collection (inv.no.1003/40).
Sold in these rooms, 22 November 1985, lot 404.
Christie’s London, 27 April 1993, lot 50.
N. Safwat, A Collector’s Eye. Islamic calligraphy in Qur’ans and other manuscripts, London 2010, no.52, pp.212-3.
Born in Bukhara in 810 AD, Muhammad b. Isma'il al-Bukhari wrote his al-Jami' al-Sahih (now prominently known as the Sahih al-Bukhari, 'The Sound Collection') as a compilation of 7,397 traditions selected from the 600,000 hadith that were extant in his time (The Encyclopaedia of Islam, H.A.R. Gibb et al (eds.), vol.I, Leiden, 1986, p.1296). After making the pilgrimage to Mecca, al-Bukhari travelled all over the 'Abbasid Empire, attempting to gather the traditions of the Prophet. Many regard al-Bukhari's Sahih second only to the Qur'an in terms of importance and sacredness.
The present manuscript bears several notes in the margins stating that the manuscript was in the great mosque of Tarablu (Tripoli) shortly after it was copied by the scribe. Al-Jami’ al-Sahih was a popular text in the Mamluk period. Several copies, contemporaneous to the present lot and with comparable illumination, were offered in these rooms, 25 October 2017, lot 19 and 24 April 2013 lot 31.